Heretofore, a number of improvements for cat litter box mechanisms have been proposed. However, such mechanisms have been ineffective or overly mechanized. These litter boxes have required special supplies, special installation requirements, or extensive operator intervention in order to clean a litter box and have not been fully automatic in operation.
A need has thus arisen for a practical mechanism suitable for automatically eliminating the wastes of animals, such as for example, cats that can be used in a home environment without the need for special installation or special supplies. Such a self cleaning litter box requires good reliability, reduced costs of operation and efficient use of litter. Additionally, a need has arisen for a litter receptacle for receiving animal waste, automatically separating the waste from litter, and depositing the waste in a disposable waste bag. A need has still further arisen for an automatic litter system which requires essentially no attention during normal operation except for the periodic changing of soiled litter and the changing of a waste disposal bag.